Against the Grain
by zabeth0322
Summary: UPDATED. Rating changed to T. Chapter 3 is up! Mission objectives given as Sakura and Gaara are split up and Itachi is sent on a dangerous solo mission. Is the Third making a good choice?
1. Prolouge: Birth

"Gaa-ni-chan!"

"Ne, Sak'ra-chan?"

"Aishteru!"

Smile. "Aishteru, Saku-chan."

She ran, vibrant hair flowing behind her, to the on place she knew was safe. Konohagakure.

Once there, she was depleted of strength and brought to the emergency room. Labor was induced. She birthed her son three hours later, but almost did not have the will to continue. She hadn't known she was carrying twins.

The first was a boy. He had a small mop of red hair and emerald eyes. Poor child. He would be subjected to much abuse due to the departing gift from his traitor of a father. That man had used his mother in order to create the perfect weapon for himself. The woman made sure he wouldn't – couldn't – get it.

The second was a girl with light pink hair and emerald eyes slightly darker than her brother's. Unknown to the group huddled around the mother, the demon sealed into the body of her twin had caused an anomaly. She, too, had an inner demon; another form of herself into which her anger took physical form.

The mother died after the umbilical cords were cut.

…Thus… Haruno Gaara and Haruno Sakura were born.

Rather short, but it's a prologue. Review if you would like to see what happens and I have several good things planned. I think this idea is rather original and I'd appreciate you asking me before using it.

Thanks and mucho amour,

zabeth


	2. Early Development of the Haruno Twins

Chapter 1: Early Development of the Haruno Twins

Before long, the Hokage realized that the Harunos were not all they seemed. With immense chakra reserves and near perfect control at the age of two, he took the pair in for private tutelage. Their craving to learn helped.

At three, they spoke fluently, though not perfectly. At five, they could be considered Genin and it became so. They went on missions outside Konoha, but the Hokage made sure they were never in any real danger.

At age six, they were promoted to Chuunin. The missions spurred their development.

They skipped Jounin and jumped to ANBU on their 8th birthday.

They along with their demons became the best-kept secret of Konohagakure.

Gaara and Sakura walked through the gates of their hometown in full ANBU attire complete with bloodstains and obvious signs of deterioration and neglect decorating their armor. Their masks did not really do much because the colors of their hair was so uncommon, especially Sakura's, but both had a circle of red painted on the white porcelain. Aside from that, Gaara's was a brown raccoon and Sakura's was a combination of swirls painted in sky blue. Beside them was a boy, maybe twice their age, with long hair tied at the nape of his neck hidden behind a captain's mask.

"Raccoon, Dragonfly, I'm going to report to the Hokage, now. Feel free to go home," the boy said, addressing Gaara and Sakura, respectively. He vanished in the blink of an eye before Sakura could get out her "Ja ne, Weasel-san!" A moment later, the two also vanished, except in clouds of sand and petals.

Arriving in their small apartment, they removed their masks. Gaara was not surprised to see his twin pouting. Itachi always left before she could get to say goodbye. At least, he was more social than the teenaged Uchiha ice cube. The thirteen year old really got on Gaara's nerves sometimes. He took a cleansing breath and waited for Sakura to tell him to change out of his bloody, dirty clothes. ..Three ...Two …One.

"Gaa-nii-chan! You should really change now! I am tired of the smell of blood after that mission and you still wearing that makes me feel ill! You know…" she rambled on, but Gaara had learned to block her out when she went on a tirade such this, which only happened when they returned from an A or S class mission. Too bad that was at least once a month. Ah, the life of a eight-year-old ANBU with a crazy twin sister... it was never dull.


	3. Calm Preludes Catastrophe

Chapter 2: Calm Preludes Catastrophe

The window was open, giving a clear view of the starry night sky of Konoha. Gaara sat up on the small bed near it, gazing upwards. The eight-year-old was kept awake by the demon housed in his body. So he just sat there, contemplating random thoughts. His mind wandered to his sister, then, as if she could hear his thoughts, she crawled up to sit next to him. She had taken to sleeping only a few hours a night, just so she could stay up with him and help him manage the night.

Moonlight basked their pale faces as simple serenity settled around them. The feeling of absolute peace brought flickers of smiles to the twins' lips as their heads rested upon each other's shoulders.

Elsewhere, peace was harder to come by. The Uchiha compound had been silent as the grave only moments before. A man with serpentine features had infiltrated not only Konohagakure's walls, but the Uchiha complex. He began a mass murdering, taking on the face of a familiar ANBU Captain. Ruthlessly murdering the clan, he began formulating a diabolical plan.

A young boy, of only eight years, was making his way home. The empty streets of the Uchiha complex speckled with a dark gooey substance he recognized as blood. The further he ran in, the more blood and, eventually, dismembered body parts littered the ground. Now sprinting, his own home came into view. A light was on in his parents' bedroom and his hopes began to rise.

In his haste, his shoes were kept on, tracking mud and blood through the otherwise immaculate house. He reached the door and stopped. He could not hear any sound from the room, only the violent cannonading of his heart. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

He slowly pulled the sliding door open. The lamp had been shattered and the room was now dark. The full moon, however, was unforgiving. It unveiled two bodies slumped lifelessly over each other. Bile rose in his throat as tears came to his eyes. He retched at the growing scent of death. A figure silently stepped out of the shadows. The face was half-hidden, but still immediately recognizable to the boy.

"Itachi-ni-san?" he murmured, coughing a little from the vomit. "What h-happened? The wh-whole clan…"

'Itachi' grinned. The grin grew sadistic and a killing intent rose in the air. The child faltered, taking a shaky step back. A kunai was suddenly imbedded into the open sliding door. The boy sprinted. The floor covered with mud and blood was not dotted by tiny pools of salt water tears. 'Itachi' pursued.

"Itachi-ni-san! Wh-why?" the boy cried. "Nande?"

"Wh-why?" 'Itachi' mocked. He replied, "To test my strength."

The boy's breath hitched.

"Foolish brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life."

Sasuke was knocked out cold, the words ringing in his head.

The normally stoic Itachi began screaming, trying to evade the grasp of the Sandaime Hokage.

"Itachi! Listen to me! You barging in there is not what needs to be done! Your brother is in serious trauma!" he tried reasoning with the distraught teenager. Itachi would have none of it.

"That's my brother in there! From what you've just told me, he's the only family I have left! I _need_ to see him!" he bellowed. Saindame sighed. "There is no reason you can give me that will change my mind."

"You shouldn't go in there… because… he says that _you_ are the one that murdered the clan."

Itachi went limp.

A/N Notes:

Sorry for the wait, guys. I decided to continue with the Uchiha Massacre and I changed the ages of the twins' promotions in chapter two, but my explanation for that will be here.

I figured that if Itachi, with the aid of the Sharingan, could become ANBU Captain at such a young age, then two jinchuriki children with inherited perfect chakra control could be that strong. If you do not agree with this, then that is fine. I urge you however, to overlook this small detail and just take the story as it is now.

I also have the plans laid out for the next few chapters. So hopefully they will be up by or before June. :D


	4. SClass HitaiAte

Chapter 3: S-Class Missions / Hitai-ate

Sakura glanced up at the stiff Uchiha prodigy standing next to her before a light tug on her hand, courtesy of her brother, brought her eyes back to the Hokage.

"Now this mission is top secret, S-class. You each have individual objectives and your orders are explicit," the Third said gravely, hanging a scroll to each. "I would tell no one of your missions, but it is incredibly important than you each know the other's goals so there is no confusion."

The Sandaime sat back in his chair, rigid and fingers interlaced. The room was deathly silent and there was no movement. He looked to Itachi.

"Your mission is to infiltrate the terrorist organization Akatsuki. You are to find their objectives and report to us without breaking your cover. In order to do this, you must become a missing-nin.

"Gaara, you are to follow a lead on the Uchiha massacre to certain dealings in Sunagakure." Itachi made a noise of protest before the Hokage's sharp eyes quelled his motion. "You will also be undercover as a Sand Genin and placed with the Kazekage's two children.

"Sakura, you have a very important mission that requires the most vigilance. You are to befriend and protect Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. You are to monitor their progress as ninja and report back weekly. When genin teams are assigned, you will be placed with them and a jounin teacher who will know of your mission. This is of the uptmost importance as you will remain in the village and constantly surpress your abilities to that of a _normal_ eight year old and make friends with two mentally scarred boys without them knowing of your mission."

Sandaime stood as the comprehension of their objective sank in.

"Your missions begin immediately. Good luck. Dissmissed!"

With a slight nod, the three shinobi vanished.

Itachi quickly gathered needed items from the ANBU storage room; he could not bring himself to reenter the Uchiha complex because the area was so decimated and devoid of life. This was enhanced by his fear of meeting Sasuke. He would have to rethink the entire scenario and try to formulate a solution to the unexpected turn of events.

Mission scroll in hand, Uchiha Itachi stood. The paper unrolled smoothly and blood red Sharigan blazed to absorb information. The scroll lit up in flames not a moment later. Bracing himself, Itachi scratched through the metal symbol on his hitai-ate. Then, he was gone.

At the Haruno home, Sakura watched Gaara pack for his solo mission. As he picked up the teddy bear she had given him for their last birthday, something tightened in her chest. She flung herself at him and sobbed into his back. He gently placed a hand over her arms and continued packing. Prying out of her death grip, he handed her his headband. She looked up, eyes wide.

"I can't take this with me. Please keep it safe," he murmured into her hair. She nodded.

"Aishteru, Gaa-niichan."

"That's an odd thing to say, Saku-chan." She looked up at him, hurt. "I already knew that." He placed a hand on her head and smiled lightly before she tackled him in another hug.

"I'll be Subaku no Gaara next time you see me. I won't be your brother or your friend. I can't until my mission is over and I'm allowed to come back home."

"Hai." Two sets of determined green eyes met. Minutes rolled by in silence before Haruno Gaara disappeared, taken by Subaku no Gaara.

Sakura looked to the clear Konoha sky as the sun slowly stretched above the horizon. She inhaled before making her way to the Academy playground where her first charge was sure to be found alone on the swings.

* * *

Sorry about the wait… this is the set up for the next 'four years,' which will be skipped so that the real part of the story can start. It is just to let you know where each character will be. I also apologize for the short length of this chapter... its pretty much filler to connect the two time spans.

Again sorry about the wait…

I'll try harder next time to get a speedy chapter out. But not without quality.

Love,

zabeth


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